About

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THROUGH GLOBAL STANDARDS

FieldComm Group began operations on January 1, 2015 by combining all assets of the former Fieldbus Foundation and HART Communication Foundation. 

FieldComm Group is a global standards-based non-profit member organization consisting of leading process end users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations that work together to direct the development, incorporation and implementation of communication technologies for the process industries. Membership is open to anyone interested in the use of the technologies. In addition to HART and FOUNDATION Fieldbus communication technologies, FieldComm Group is responsible for ongoing development of Field Device Integration (FDI) Technology.

The establishment of the FieldComm Group allows developers of digital open standards to better collaborate on new and existing technologies and to increase market share of digital field devices in the total device market.

MISSION

  • Develop, manage, and promote global standards for integrating digital devices to on-site, mobile, and cloud based systems

  • Provide services for standards conformance and implementation of process automation devices and systems that enable and improve reliability and multi-vendor interoperability

  • Lead the development of a unified information model of process automation field devices while building upon industry investment in the HART®, FOUNDATION™ Fieldbus and FDI™ standards

    TED MASTERS

    PRESIDENT AND CEO

    Mr. Masters has held leadership roles in a wide variety of technology companies supporting the process industry for over 30 years. He has experience in managing the growth and delivery of products, software and service solutions to industrial markets. His career has been centered around the conversion of operational data into actionable intelligence and helping users make better decisions to capture the value by integration into business systems and processes.

    WALLY PRATT

    DIRECTOR – FIELD COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS

    Wally Pratt is a Director of HART Technology at FieldComm Group. He has over 35 years experience designing, developing and supporting embedded real-time systems, digital signal processing, continuous and batching  controls, process and environmental instrumentation and digital communications protocols and systems. He was the technical lead for the development and introduction of C8PSK Physical Layer ("High Speed HART"), WirelessHART, and HART-IP. Mr. Pratt is the architect of the HART and WirelessHART Test Systems. He joined the HART Communication Foundation (now FieldComm Group) in 1994.

    STEPHEN MITSCHKE

    DIRECTOR – STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT & TECHNICAL SERVICES

    As Programs Director, Stephen is responsible for organizing FieldComm Group’s technology portfolio under a consistent set of policies and procedures to deliver leading edge technologies and innovations for the automation industry.  He has extensive background in information system planning, technology development, software engineering and conformity assessment programs. Throughout his career he has worked with international standard bodies and standard setting organizations to create collaborative environments that deliver high quality, market relevant standards. With over 20 years of experience in design, development and deployment of FOUNDATION Fieldbus, he is responsible for its ongoing standardization, conformance and interoperability test programs. Stephen holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin,TX.

    SEAN VINCENT

    DIRECTOR – TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS

    Sean Vincent is Director of Technical Services with responsibility for tool and technology program development. His experience includes HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus and FDI technology related projects as a product developer, test engineer, field application engineer and technical trainer. Throughout his career Sean has designed, developed and supported embedded real-time systems as well as implementing various digital communications protocols and control systems. He administered successful product registration programs for the former Fieldbus Foundation and HART Communication Foundation. Sean is committed to improving the technologies, tools and service of the FieldComm Group.

    PAUL SEREIKO

    DIRECTOR - MARKETING AND PRODUCT STRATEGY

    Mr. Sereiko is responsible for guiding worldwide marketing efforts to position FieldComm Group technologies in the marketplace, expand membership and increase the adoption of digital automation solutions in plant environments across the world. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering and an MBA in Marketing & Finance from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

    Chairman of the Board

    Thoralf Schulz

    Global Technology Manager Control Technologies in Process Automation - ABB

    Mr. Schulz is Global Technology Manager Control Technologies in Process Automation and is responsible for Technology Strategy and Product Development in ABB’s Control Technologies business. He has more than 20 years of experience in the process automation and process industry. Mr. Schulz holds master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration.

    Taro Sento

    General Manager of Industrial Automation Products Business - Azbil Corporation

    Mr. Sento is the General Manager of Industrial Automation Products Business at Azbil Corporation. He is responsible for management of Industrial Automation Products Business, including sales, marketing and business planning. He has over 30 years of experience in industrial automation and has a high level of expertise in marketing and strategic business planning.

    Hans Fiesel

    Technology Director - Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG

    Mr. Fiesel is the Technology Director of Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG, located in Reinach, Switzerland. He has broad experience across several industries, in the domains of automation, digital communication, HW- and SW-development, collected over the past 30 years. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and a degree in applied software science.

    Steve Armstrong

    Vice Present of Plantweb Technology  - Emerson

    Mr. Armstrong is currently Vice Present of Plantweb Technology at Emerson. He has been in the automation business and with Fisher / Emerson for more than 45 years. He has held various engineering and management positions and led development programs such as AMS Device Manager and field communicators for the management of field instrumentation using the HART and FOUNDATION Fieldbus protocols.  

    In his present role Mr. Armstrong leads a global technology team that works across all the Emerson business units to help get new products to market. Team members in Mr. Armstrong’s organization are actively involved with organizations such as FCG and in the development of industry standards such as FDI. 

    Yugo Sunaga

    Senior Manager of Control Technology Development Department - Fuji Electric Co., Ltd., Japan

    Mr. Sunaga is Senior Manager of Control Technology Development Department for Fuji Electric Co., Ltd., Japan. He is responsible for developing, planning and Quality Assurance at Fuji’s Industrial and Instrumentation Systems and Equipment. He has over 25 years of experience in industrial automation and Control network systems and has high expertise in the development of network protocols and the systems.

    Raj Bandekar

    Director of Engineering - Honeywell Process Solutions

    Mr. Bandekar is the Engineering Director in Technology Organization at Honeywell Process Solutions. He is responsible for Systems Engineering and Common Platform for New Product Development in Experion PKS Automation System. Mr. Bandekar has over 25 years of experience in System Architecture and Design of several products in Digital Field, Distributed Control System and Asset Management and has been awarded over 8 patents.

    Lutz Liebers

    President, Process Automation Division - Pepperl+Fuchs

    Lutz Liebers has a master’s degree in Industrial Electronics (Dipl.-Ing.) from a university in Görlitz, Germany and has over 25 years of experience in Instrumentation and Process Automation industries. He started his career with Numerik where he led a group of engineers responsible for PLC equipment testing. In 1989 Mr. Liebers joined Pepperl+Fuchs as Sales Engineer and was very successful at building up the Eastern German Sales Organization. In 1997 he became responsible for Project Pursuit activities. In 2003 he was promoted to Director Global Projects and Global Account Management. He was also responsible for the Project and Key Account activities as well as Business Development Management and Global Technical Support. In January of 2015 Mr. Liebers was promoted to the position of President of the Process Automation Division at Pepperl+Fuchs.

    Shannon Foos

    Segment Manager for Process Automation Networks, Integration and Asset Management - Rockwell Automation

    Ms. Foos is Segment Manager for Process Automation Networks, Integration and Asset Management and is responsible for Rockwell Automation's strategies and product development in those areas. She has more than 20 years of experience in the process industry and has held positions with automation system providers in implementation, consulting, marketing, product management and strategy. Ms. Foos is a degreed Chemical Engineer and a registered Professional Engineer in Control Systems with the state of Ohio. 

    Patrick Lamboley

    Senior Director, Standardization - Schneider Electric

    Dr. Lamboley is the Director of the Standardization and Interoperability of the Industrial Automation Business Unit at Schneider Electric, located in Paris, France. As a member of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) team, he overseas product development and innovation projects at Schneider Electric.

    Dr. Lamboley  holds a PhD in Production Systems from Research Center for Automatic Control in Nancy, France and has over 25 years of experience in Industrial Automation, including 10 years with standardization bodies. Dr. Lamboley has been with Schneider Electric for 25 years.

    Hartmut Klocker

    Vice President Process Automation and Engineering Systems – Siemens AG

    Mr. Klocker is General Manager for the business with control systems and engineering software in process industries, based in Karlsruhe, Germany. He has more than 20 years of experience in project management for the chemical industry as well as in automation products and solution business.

    Seiichiro Takahashi

    General Manager, Technology Marketing - Yokogawa Electric Corporation 

    Mr. Seiichiro Takahashi is a General Manager for Technology Marketing at Yokogawa Electric Corporation, with main focus on field network technologies in process automation. He has more than 30 years of experience in the process automation and field digital communication technologies, which includes management of field instrument and architecture development.

    BERNHARD GUT

    REGIONAL MARKETING DIRECTOR, EUROPE

    Mr. Gut started his business career at Endress + Hauser. From 1979 to 1995, he held the position of Product Manager at the Research & Development and Marketing department. Then he was the Project Manager for national and international projects. From 2005 to 2014, Mr. Gut was the head of various departments relating to process automation solutions until he assumed the leading responsibility as the Head of Electrical Engineering in 2014.

    HIROYUKI TSUGANE

    REGIONAL MARKETING DIRECTOR,  ASIA PACIFIC

    Mr. Hiroyuki Tsugane has over 40 years of experience in the field of process automation, including plant maintenance, construction and operation improvements. He was engaged in many leading roles throughout his career, with the latest one being the leading project manager of Digital Field Solution at Azbil Corporation where he worked on business development for HART and FOUNDATION Fieldbus solutions. Mr. Tsugane holds a degree in Engineering from Keio University.

    DR. MINHUI WU

    DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, CHINA

    Dr. Minhui Wu started developing FieldComm Group China business 5 years ago as director of HART Communication Foundation - China. Before joining FieldComm Group, he worked for Autodesk, an U.S.A. based design software company and Qihoo 360, a China based internet security company. Dr. Wu holds Bachelor's Degree in Automatic Control and Ph.D in Artificial Intelligence. 

    MOHAMMED (MO) LOCH

    REGIONAL DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST

    Mohammed (Mo) Loch is the President & CEO of DMS Global which reports on energy related projects around the world through their online project database known as the DMS Project Matrix.   Mo is also the Director Industry Relations for the International Society of Automation (ISA) as well as the Partner Middle East, Africa & South East Asia for the ARC Advisory.  He also serves as the Regional Director Middle East for the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (MESA) and is the Director Market Intelligence for the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

    As the FieldComm Group Regional Director for Middle East, Mr. Loch is handling the development and execution of regional marketing strategies and plans and building support for their activities using ambassadors in each country to develop and host localized education and training events aimed at users and suppliers for FOUNDATION Fieldbus, HART, WirelessHART and FDI technologies.

    FieldComm Group

    The FieldComm Group is headquartered in beautiful Austin, Texas the live music capital of the USA.  We are supported globally through a network of regional marketing directors and member company volunteers.

    9430 Research Blvd

    Suite 1-120

    AUSTIN, TX 78759

    UNITED STATES

    (512) 792-2300

    info@fieldcommgroup.org